Well Therau2000, Congratulations! I know that it was not an easy job, so well done! You should be very proud. Unfortunately I don't have java on any of my PCs so I cant take a peek, but all the same, you've done a great job!

Well Therau2000, Congratulations! I know that it was not an easy job, so well done! You should be very proud. Unfortunately I don't have java on any of my PCs so I cant take a peek, but all the same, you've done a great job!

After many manipulations of programming and testing, I'm pleased to announce a new MOV FW with the following changes:

Video Out

now has toggles for mode (NTSC or PAL) and aspect ratio (16:9 and 4:3)

16:9 will be letter-boxed (black bars top and bottom in the taller 4:3 aspect ratio frame as before)

4:3 will be an image stretched vertically to fill the blank letter-boxed bars

Auto-shutoff will be automatically set to OFF when this function is turned on (prevents losing FPV video if the user forgets to turn it off!

If HD recording is being done concurrently with video out, a 30 sec. countdown timer will appear briefly in the upper right corner of the video out display when the memory card space will only hold approximately that much additional recording. When the timer times out, it will disappear when the camera stops recording, and a small "card full" alert will appear for about 5 sec. in the center of the video out display. Video out will not be interrupted by any of this and will continue after the recording stops until the camera loses power or is manually turned off. The purpose of this is to give anyone shooting aerial video a "heads-up" to get any special video they may want to capture in the remaining time.

If battery power starts to get dangerously low, a low battery alert will be displayed in the video out stream.

Approximately 90 secs. of video out will remain with the internal camera battery before it can cease to function

Larger batteries with lesser voltage drop off will give proportionally longer time before video out is lost, and weak batteries may decay faster with proportionally earlier video out cut-off. The purpose is to give FPV fliers a "heads up" to get the aircraft on the ground ASAP or risk losing video while still flying.

Motion Detection

Now has new settings for Sensitivity and Timeout delay

Sensitivity can be toggled to either High or Low values for greater or lesser, respectively, sensitivity of the motion detection trigger.

Timeout delay before the video shuts down with no motion detected can be toggled to 5, 15, 30 or 60 secs.

Time Lapse

Photo delay settings now include 0.50 and 0.25 secs.

These low settings, especially .25 sec., were not possible with the CMOS imager in it's stock form. The #16 developer, working with the CMOS manufacturer, made this work with a couple of minor tradeoffs. I.E., the frame size must by 1280x720 and no date stamp can be displayed.

The 0.25 sec. delay between images, when joined into a movie at 30 fps, will equate to a 7.5x time lapse speed up.

NOTE: The Auto-shutdown setting can remain active with Time lapse turned on because it will only function when the camera is toggled out of photo mode back into standby mode.

Video Frame Rate

this is a new function that allows recording video with frames rates of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 fps. These can give additional time lapse video modes:

The 5 fps mode is special, and will automatically play back at 30 fps. This means the NATIVE video stream in this mode will give a 6X speed-up with NO editing, though the audio stream will still play back at an un-accelerated rate and will be continue playing long after the video stops! The audio stream can be stripped off the video with most editors.

The other frame rates play back at the same frame rate as the capture rate (e.g., 15 fps capture will play back at 15 fps with no speed up and jerky motion)

Editing the special frame rates to play back faster can produce slower "timelapse" motion than the time lapse still image function method, e.g.:

5 fps video at 30 fps = 6x speed up

25 fps video at 30 fps = 1.2x speed up

10 fps video at 30 fps = 3x speed up

15 fps video at 30 fps = 2x speed up

20 fps video at 30 fps = 1.5x speed up

25 fps video at 30 fps = 1.2x speed up

The 25 fps video will also be play back consistent with the PAL video standard

Power-on Delay

This is a new function that gives the user the choice of the existing 2 sec. delayed power-up, or a fast mode power-up with no delay.

Before some one asks... YES an AVI version will be produced shortly, but the developer would like to get some user feedback on the changes before compiling it. So, the faster meaningful feedback is received, the soon the AVI FW will be released.

As before, new GUI versions are required to manipulate the new capabilities unless you manually edit the config file. Isoprop's compatible new v3.0.5.3 Windows GUI is linked for download in post #4 (and 10). I see Therau2000 just released his new GUI version, but I have not yet tried it to see if it works with all the new functions. Perhaps someone can do this and report back? I need a break from testing!

Version 3.0.0.0 Plug-and-GO supports full-feature USB communication (including in-camera formatting) in addition to a major functional redesign that now offers a greatly simplified User interface with fully automatic operation; just plug Camera to USB port and GO!

Version 3.0.0.0 Plug-and-GO works on Linux and Windows (and Mac OS X once OS issue is resolved) and as with previous versions, you can change language (as many as 16 are available) on-the-fly. You can take a peek here.

Note: Despite several attempts on my part to convince the developer otherwise, Firmware Version v0.58 is not backward compatible with previous versions of Configuration Assistant. Therefore after updating Firmware to v0.58, Configuration Assistant Version 0.2.0.7 and before will fail with error message wrong value pair: 'TV Display Ratio'. The solution is to update to the most recent Version available.

On the positive side, this may be a great opportunity to update to the now fully automatic Version 3.0.0.0 Plug-and-GO with full-feature USB communication.

Well now, that incompatibility with your JAVA GUI seems like it wasn't that big of an issue after all... you came up with a solution in just a few hours with your JAVA version! And who would NOT want to upgrade to your new P-N-P version now! Well Done!

Admittedly I have not been aboard for all 744 pages and over 11,000 posts but what is the difference between Isoprops GUI and Therau2000"s GUI?

I have been using Isoprop's GUI and haven't had any problems (As a matter of fact, nothing but praise) but Therau's seems to have more features and works pretty much the same.

Has Isoprop deferred to Therau? Or are they two distinct GUIs with different capabilities?

Yabba

They are different, and independent of each other. Both can set the camera configuration keys on Windows PCs, but Therau2000's version requires a programming add-on module (JAVA) since it was written in a different programming language. So there will be some Windows PCs that won't run the JAVA version without first downloading the add-on. On the plus side, the JAVA version can run on other operating systems, like LINUX and MAC systems. Isoprop's version is for Windows PCs only.

Aside from the platform compatibility, the main differences now are mostly form, not function. If you like a lot of onscreen guidance, then Therau2000's version may be more appealing, especially for newbies or those who very seldom need to update their camera FW or change settings. If you prefer a leaner interface that is easier to read, toggle settings and don't need much of any on-screen help with the process, then Isoprop's version is the way to go.

These are just my opinions, YMMV.

p.s. Both versions are linked in post #4 and are updated to access the most recent FW functions. Isoprop's version has had the USB direct communication for some time now, so didn't need a big new post about that capability.

Thanks Tom. As you know from my WMM trials and tribulations I need a LOT of help and tutorials. I think I'll give Therau's a shot for when I am stoopid I am stoopid I am stoopid. (most of the time)

Glad you're back.

Yabba

It's good that you have a choice... don't forget you may need to download the JAVA module to run it. I assume you'll get an alert if you need it when you try to boot the program. I have JAVA on my PC so never ran into that issue.

Still hoping for firmware version with the ability for the camera to record video in.
So those who fly fpv can use the camera to record the actual live video link.
That way the fpv pilot can see their osd information as well as any video link drop outs and/or video link interference.

If not available with this camera through fw revisions...hopefully the new 2013 model can have this ability.

Will be trying out the new fw version and see if the camera still self discharges as mine did with the v.49 fw.

Still hoping for firmware version with the ability for the camera to record video in.
So those who fly fpv can use the camera to record the actual live video link.
That way the fpv pilot can see their osd information as well as any video link drop outs and/or video link interference.

If not available with this camera through fw revisions...hopefully the new 2013 model can have this ability.

Will be trying out the new fw version and see if the camera still self discharges as mine did with the v.49 fw.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the DSP chip in this camera supports video in. I know the developer reads this thread and you've asked about this before, so your wish has been heard.

FWIW, I didn't notice the self-discharge issue on any of my 5 #16 cameras during my testing.